Thursday, December 13, 2007

How would the candidates have voted on Lugar-Lautenberg?

For the first time since I don't know when, I saw a debate moderator ask the exact question on my mind. Today, in Iowa, the Des Moine Register hosted a Democratic presidential debate where the Farm Bill was directly addressed.

Carolyn Washburn, editor of the Register and the moderator, noted that every senator on the panel had missed the vote on the FRESH ammendment. She asked them how they would have voted if they had been present and why. The answers were a little surprising to me. I went from being irritated that my senator missed the vote to being glad Obama was shaking hands in Iowa. Not that it mattered in the end.

Here are the answers with some paraphrased notes on the rhetorical nays:
Dodd- yes
Obama- no...said there were things (unspecified?) in the ammendment he didn't like, but he does support subsidy caps and did vote yes on Dorgan-Grassely today
Biden-yes
Clinton-no...said she follows Tom Harkins lead (smart statement in Iowa!). Also, noted her yes vote for Dorgan-Grassley today

The other candidates were not asked their opinion on farm policy. At least it got the Farm Bill issue a bit more press in a national forum.

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